This invention relates to apparatus for dispensing coins.
It is known to provide a coin handling apparatus which receives and validates coins of different denominations, and directs valid coins to respective containers each containing coins of a single denomination. It is also known to dispense coins from these containers as change in an amount corresponding to the difference between the value of inserted coins and the price of a product or service obtained from a machine associated with the coin handling apparatus.
Coins are dispensed into a coin return, or payout, tray. For vending machines, this typically has a small volume, capable of holding only a few coins. since a typical change giving operation will involve only the pay out of a limited number of coins.
Occasionally, however, it may be necessary to pay out a larger number of coins. For example, where the coin handling apparatus contains only coins of a low denomination, it maybe necessary to pay out a large number of coins of low value. Furthermore, during servicing, it is sometimes desirable to cause the apparatus to dispense coins down to a predetermined level (e.g. the float level) for each container, or to dispense all coins in each container.
Under such circumstances, unless considerable care is taken by the user, coins may overflow the payout tray and roll away, or jam in the payout tray.
EP 0513386-A1 discloses a game medal dispenser in which a sensor in the payout port senses if a blockage has occurred, and prevents further payouts until an arcade keeper can take appropriate action to clear the blockage.
Accordingly, in a coin handling apparatus according to the invention, where multiple coins are to be paid out which would exceed the volume available within the payout tray, the apparatus is arranged to pay out a plurality of coins sufficient to occupy a substantial portion of the payout tray but not to over fill it, and to delay paying out further coins until the occurrence of a predetermined condition (for example, a button press by the user, or the elapse of a predetermined time). The delay may comprise a pause, or a reduction of the payout rate.
Other aspects and preferred embodiments of the invention, with corresponding advantages, will be apparent from the following description and claims.
An example of an apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: